RUMINATE Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'ruminate' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of ruminate are meditate , muse , and ponder . While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption. // ruminated on past disappointments

Q: When is it sensible to use 'meditate' instead of 'ruminate'?

While in some cases nearly identical to ruminate , meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply. // meditated on the meaning of life

Q: When might 'muse' be a better fit than 'ruminate'?

The synonyms muse and ruminate are sometimes interchangeable, but muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance. // mused upon childhood joys

Q: When is 'ponder' a more appropriate choice than 'ruminate'?

Although the words ponder and ruminate have much in common, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter. // pondered the course of action

ruminate

verb

ˈrü-mə-ˌnāt

Definition of ruminate next

as in to ponder

to give serious and careful thought to the minister hoped that the congregation would spend the remainder of the week ruminating the message of his sermon

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How is the word ruminate different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of ruminate are meditate, muse, and ponder. While all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately," ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption.

ruminated on past disappointments

When is it sensible to use meditate instead of ruminate?

While in some cases nearly identical to ruminate, meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply.

meditated on the meaning of life

When might muse be a better fit than ruminate?

The synonyms muse and ruminate are sometimes interchangeable, but muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance.

mused upon childhood joys

When is ponder a more appropriate choice than ruminate?

Although the words ponder and ruminate have much in common, ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter.

pondered the course of action

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ruminate When the movie shut down for the strike, Phillips had done her initial fittings with the actors and was able to ruminate on her choices. —

Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 21 Dec. 2024 Assad will have plenty of time to ruminate on his errors in his new home, said Simon Sebag Montefiore in The Times. —

The Week Uk, theweek, 14 Dec. 2024 Murphy, who won reelection for a third term last month, has spent the past month ruminating over Democrats’ losses across the country and over where the party may have gone wrong. —

Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 4 Dec. 2024 Like o1, the new model spends time ruminating over a problem in order to deliver better answers to questions that require step-by-step logical reasoning. —

Will Knight, WIRED, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ruminate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruminate

Verb

Ben Riley’s work pondering the nature of intelligence, for example, has moved us toward that goal.

— Michael B. Horn, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
And with her husband finishing his 16th NFL season, pondering retirement came naturally in the caption.

— Scott Thompson, Fox News, 21 Jan. 2025